Wingate University Athletics

Rock Hill, S.C.----Three of the most highly-decorated student-athletes in league history and a two-time national championship-winning former coach have been elected to the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame, Commissioner Patrick Britz announces today. 

The Class of 2009-10 includes former Wingate University men’s basketball player Lorinza “Junior” Harrington; former Tusculum College standout football player Ricardo Colclough; former Lenoir-Rhyne University men’s basketball player Daniel Willis and former Elon University head football coach Jerry Tolley. 

They will be inducted into the SAC Hall of Fame as part of the South Atlantic Conference Annual Meeting in Asheville, N.C. on June 3. The banquet will held at the Biltmore Doubletree Hotel with a reception at 6:15 p.m. Dinner and inductions will follow at 7 p.m. 

Harrington was the SAC men’s basketball Player of the Year for the 2001-02 season after setting a single-season conference records for assists (204). Harrington helped the Wingate Bulldogs to a 100-22 record during his four-year career; he was named to a pair of All-America teams following his senior season. He ranks second in SAC history in career assists (584) and career steals (263). 

Following his career at Wingate, Harrington has enjoyed a successful career as a professional basketball player. He had logged 140 career games in the National Basketball Association, playing for the Denver Nuggets, New Orleans Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies. As a rookie with Denver, he was the only Nugget to play in all 82 games. He scored a career-high 22 points with the Hornets against the Charlotte Bobcats.
Harrington has played in European leagues in Ukraine, Spain, Russia, Slovenia and Poland. His teams won the Ukrainian National Championship in 2004, the Slovenian National Championship in 2009 and the Slovenian Nation Cup in 2009. He played in the 2004 FIBA Europe League All-Star Game. 

Colclough enjoyed one of the finest football seasons in SAC history in 2003, helping lead the Pioneers to a 9-2 overall record and earning consensus All-America honors from six organizations. He was named the 2003 Football Gazette National Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Colclough was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Award, which recognizes the most outstanding football player in Division II. 

The 2003 SAC Defensive Player of the Year and the 2003-04 SAC Male Athlete of the Year, Colclough holds 12 school records. His TC school records include longest kickoff return, longest punt return, career interceptions and career passes defended.

Colclough was considered one of the nation’s top cornerbacks following his senior season. He was a second-round draft pick (the 38th pick overall) in the 2004 NFL Draft. Colclough became the highest-drafted player in SAC history. His six-year NFL career includes stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs. He has played in six NFL playoff contests, including Pittsburgh’s 21-10 victory over Seattle in Super Bowl XL. 

Willis was one of the league’s most prolific scorers in men’s basketball, posting 1,980 points during his career with the Bears. His total ranks second in conference history. His 660 points scored during the 2000-01 season ranks third in conference history; his 24.4 scoring average the same year is second-best in conference history. He holds conference records for free-throws attempted in a career (684) and season (241) and ranks second in career free-throws made in a career and season. 

The SAC men’s basketball Player of the Year following the 2000-01 season, Willis earned All-America honors from three organizations. Following his graduation from Lenoir-Rhyne, Willis has continued his involvement as a successful coach. He was an assistant coach at Western Carolina University and Tusculum College, where he helped guide the Pioneers to their first SAC championship. He currently is an assistant coach at Virginia Military Institute. 

Tolley was head football coach at Elon University from 1977-81, guiding the Fighting Christians to four SAC championships. Tolley’s Elon teams won three NAIA District 26 titles and back-to-back NAIA national championships in 1980 and 1981. 

During his years in the SAC, Tolley’s teams went 49-11-2 for a winning percentage of .817. The .817 mark is highest overall winning percentage in conference history. He was named SAC Coach of the Year twice and also earned Coach of the Year accolades from district, state, regional, area and national organizations. He received the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Dwight D. Eisenhower Award and the Eastman Kodak National Collegiate Football Championship Award. 

Tolley has been inducted into the Elon University Sports Hall of Fame, the East Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame and the NAIA Hall of Fame. He has also received the Laurel Wreath Award, North Carolina’s highest award given for athletic achievement and excellence, from former N.C. Governor Mike Easley. Tolley has been honored for his lifetime achievements by the All-American Football Foundation. He is a nationally-renowned sports author, with five books on football. He is working on a sixth tome. 

A four-term mayor of Elon, N.C., Tolley has been recognized for his civic and public service with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award, the highest honor given by the state to outstanding North Carolinians who have a proven record of long and continuous community service. He has also received the Old North State Award for his dedication and service beyond expectation and excellence to the state of North Carolina.

The class of 2008-09 joins the 68 current members in the SAC Hall of Fame: 

Class on 1999-2000: Dr. Fred Bentley, Mars Hill (President); Dr. Ronald Christopher, Wingate (Baseball Coach); W.C. Clary, supervisor of football officials; Cally Gault, Presbyterian (Football Coach/AD); Fred Herren, Newberry (Football Coach/AD); Dr. Paul Jolly, Gardner-Webb (Faculty Athletic Representative); Dr. Robert Knott, Catawba (President); Dr. Cordell Maddox, Carson-Newman (President); Sam Moir, Catawba (Men’s Basketball Coach); Dr. Keith Ochs, Lenoir-Rhyne (Athletic Director); Dr. Kenneth Orr, Presbyterian (President); Albert Sloan, Carson-Newman (President); Harvey Stratton, Catawba (Football Coach); Dr. Bill Walker, Mars Hill (Athletic Director); Dr. Alan White, Elon (Athletic Director). 

Class of 2000-01: Lamont Jones, Mars Hill (Men’s Basketball); Keith Henry, Catawba (Football); Terence Steward, Lenoir-Rhyne (Football/Baseball); Direne Thomas, Wingate (Women’s Basketball); Dick Williams, Catawba (Baseball Coach). 

Class of 2001-02: Charlie Coles, Newberry (Football); Ann Hancock, Wingate (Women’s Basketball); Bill Morningstar, Elon (Golf, Cross Country Coach); Allen Morris, Presbyterian (Athletic Director); Tom Parham, Elon (Tennis Coach); Susie Hopson Shelton, Mars Hill (Women’s Basketball). 

Class of 2002-03: Allison Ankerson Makovec, Catawba (Women’s Soccer); Vernon Buck, Wingate (Football); Darren Hayes, Wingate (Baseball); Todd Collins, Carson-Newman (Football); Cedric Mansell, Mars Hill (Men’s Basketball); Clyde Miller, Newberry and Gardner-Webb (Baseball Coach); Jimmy Skipper, Newberry (Football). 

Class of 2003-04: Steve Campbell, Mars Hill (Football); Leonard Davis, Lenoir-Rhyne (Football); Kimberly Hampton, Presbyterian (Women’s Tennis); Bret Jones, Presbyterian (Men’s Basketball); Marvin Moore, Catawba (Men’s Basketball); Shannon Myers, Lenoir-Rhyne (Football/Baseball); and Heather Randolph, Carson-Newman (Softball). 

Class of 2004-05: Daniel Colangelo, Elon (Men’s Tennis); Natalie Daniel, Lenoir-Rhyne (Women’s Soccer); Elizabeth Roe Decker, Presbyterian (Women’s Soccer); Pam Deanhardt Niles, Presbyterian (Basketball/Volleyball); Selena Wilkes, Catawba (Volleyball). 

Class of 2005-06: Traci Hyman Davis, Lenoir-Rhyne (Softball/Basketball); Boyce Green, Carson-Newman (Football); Angela Harbour Mayfield, Catawba (Women’s Basketball); Dr. Jerry McGee, Wingate (President); Jennifer Wiggins, Mars Hill (Women’s Cross Country). 

Class of 2006-07: Rachel Sloan Bullard, Presbyterian (Women’s Basketball); Todd Cunningham, Presbyterian (Football); Johnny Jacumin, Wingate (Women’s Basketball Coach); Thomas O. Laurendine, Lenior-Rhyne (Football); Carol Zachary Mitchell, Carson Newman (Softball); Ken Sparks, Carson Newman (Football Coach); Rev. Edward N. Taylor, Newberry (Football). 

Class of 2007-08: Ed Hoffmeyer, Mars Hill and Tusculum (Athletic Director); Brandon Hughes, Newberry (Men’s Basketball); Alvin Morman, Wingate (Baseball); Don Safrit, Coordinator of Football Officials; Danny Sanders, Carson-Newman (Football); Curtis Walker, Catawba (Football). 

Class of 2008-09: Michelle Baity Bryant, Lenoir-Rhyne (Volleyball); Doug Echols, SAC (Commissioner); Lesley Murray, Tusculum (Women’s Basketball, Women’s Tennis); Leah Jackson Smith, Carson-Newman (Women’s Basketball); Andy Thompson, Mars Hill (Men’s Soccer). 

WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,159 students offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, career discovery and community service.

Wingate offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, communication, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the school awards the doctor of pharmacy and the doctor of education degrees.

Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past three years.

Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 34 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 43 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.

(Special thanks to South Atlantic Conference Director of Sports Administration & Information Dennis Switzer for providing this story.)